Saturday, September 12, 2015

Three goats and a cow

The news cycle isn't done with Kim Davis because Kim Davis isn't done. Her latest ploy is to ask the 6th Circuit Court to throw out the District Court's mandate to issue marriage licenses to all couples. First, they claim, it was issued improperly. Second, it was supposed to apply only to those couples who brought the suit against her. Now that those couples have their licenses she should be able to refuse licenses to all other same-sex couples. Yup, stubborn.

Davis returns to work on Monday. I'm sure her deputies will be wary (that's an understatement).

The Oath Keepers, who had vowed to prevent Davis from being arrested again, have told their followers they aren't needed because Davis has refused their protection. So save your gas money and stay home – but it is a free country and members on their own may "peaceably assemble to express your support for her due process rights and your opposition to arbitrary arrest if you want to..." That doesn't exactly sound reassuring.

Planting Peace and the Equality House, that rainbow colored house across the street from Westboro Baptist Church, have put up a billboard in Davis' home town. "If Davis is going to use Biblical rhetoric to justify her opposition to same-sex marriage, she might want to take a closer look at how else marriage has been redefined in relation to the book’s sacred teachings."

In Morehead, KY, the scene of all this action used to be quiet. Though quiet meant those who didn't agree with the prominent conservative Christian beliefs kept their mouths shut. But this whole wrangling over the issue of same-sex marriage has gotten loud. Outside protesters on both sides of the debate coming into town as well as locals have dragged the issue out into the public square. But what happens when the TV cameras leave? Well, the tension remains. And just maybe when the noise level finally drops the atmosphere will be a bit more welcoming and fewer people will feel the need for the closet.

I had written about the magistrates in McDowell County, North Carolina who refused to perform wedding ceremonies, prompting the county to bring in magistrates from a nearby county. A lot of people have been comparing the two cases. Timothy Kincaid of Box Turtle Bulletindisagrees. He sums it up this way. Magistrates: I won't take part in your wedding. Davis: I won't let you have a wedding.